Couple aged 85 and 78 years from Odisha’s Kendrapada beat coronavirus

KENDRAPADA: Last month, the relatives of 85-year-old Surendra Pati and his 78-year-old wife, Sabitri, receivedbad news from the Acharya Harihar Regional Cancer Centre in Cuttack. Both had contracted the novel coronavirus and were admitted to the Covid care centre in Aswini hospital.
With the virus especially proving deadly for the elderly, the chances of survival seemed dim for the couple. However, proving the prognosis wrong, Surendra, a cancer patient, and his wife recovered from the disease. The couple, who hails from Kendrapada, became the oldest Covid-19 survivors in the district.
Surendra and Sabitri returned home to Bagada village, on the outskirts of the district town, on Friday after they tested negative twice.
“The doctors and nurses cheered as the couple walked out of the hospital. It was quite an emotional scene as they both walked towards the exit amid rousing claps,” Krushna Chandra Luha, deputy manager of the district headquarters hospital in Kendrapada, said.
Surendra Pati was undergoing treatment at the AHRCC because of throat cancer. Sabitri was staying with him in the hospital. On June 29, both of them had tested positive for the virus. After a 10-day battle, the couple was shifted to a quarantine centre on July 8, giving hope to those still fighting the deadly disease. The couple recieved a warm welcome from their relatives and villagers. “They have to stay in home quarantine for a week now,” Luha added.
‘Our willpower helped us beat coronavirus’
We won the battle against covid-19. Our willpower to live helped us beat the virus. The doctors took good care of us,” the 85-year-old survivor said. “Don’t be afraid of the disease. Follow whatever the doctors tell you,” he added. The couple have urged everyone to stay indoors and take precautions when going out.
“Our best wishes to them. They inspire many to beat the disease”, twitted Samarth Verma the collector of Kendrapada on Friday.
In a similar incident in Ganjam district, another 85-year-old man, a resident of Bhanjanagar, and his septuagenarian kin have defeated the virus.
Bhanjanagar subcollector Rajendra Kumar Minz said, “Self-confidence and sticking to the health department advisory helped them cope with the life-threatening disease.”
The father of a policeman, the octogenarian also suffers from hypertension and diabetes. A resident of Police Colony in Bhanjanagar, he was admitted to the Covid centre on June 30, after he tested positive. He was cured of the virus after 11 days of treatment. Now he is in home quarantine.
One of his relatives, who was also in the same house and had tested positive for the virus, had undergone treatment along with him. The 75-year-old woman too walked out of the Covid centre hale and hearty, much to the relief of her family members
“Since both are advanced in years, we kept a constant watch on their oxygen level. Though their condition was worrisome initially, they recovered well later on. They were not put on ventilator support or kept in the ICU,” a doctor who attended to them said.
The old man said initially he was nervous, but mustered the courage to get treated by chanting the name of God. “The doctor and other healthcare staff visited us regularly and inquired about our well-being,” he said.
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